Here's a look at some of the new books received at the SF Site office recently, plus some sneak previews at forthcoming books from the likes of M. John Harrison (his first SF novel in many years), Susan R. Matthews, and Terry Pratchett.

And here are a couple of titles that I've been reading lately:

Pashazade: The First Arabesk by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Earthlight, hc 2001/trade 2002, UK)
This novel, the first of a trilogy (Effendi, the second, is also available from Earthlight) is nevertheless a self-contained story that does not end with a cliffhanger. There are unanswered questions, but not enough to make you angry at the publisher for having split up a single coherent story. The action takes place in the cosmopolitan North African city of El Iskandryia, mid-21st century, in a world where Germany and the Ottoman Empire won the first world war. The central character, Ashraf al-Mansur, has only recently come to El Iskandryia from the USA, where he hadn't finished serving his prison sentence for murder. He has only recently adopted the name Ashraf al-Mansur, and he has only recently discovered that he is a Pashazade, a nobleman. Even more recently, his aunt (whom he has only just met) has been murdered. He'll have to think and act quickly to figure out what's going on and keep himself out of prison on two continents.
The best thing about this novel -- apart from the fascinating characters, the cool ideas, and the intriguing plot -- is the writing. Grimwood is a brilliant storyteller, moving seamlessly from present to flashback, internal monologue to external dialogue -- and he can switch the pacing on a dime from lazy to heart-racing, before you even know what's happened. First class writing in any genre.

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons (Warner Books, mm, March 1992, USA & Canada)
Speaking of first class writing in any genre, Dan Simmons has long been one of my favourites in horror and SF, disappointing me only when he strays too close to mainstream (Darwin's Blade, for example, seemed a paltry effort compared to such brilliant works as Hyperion or Carrion Comfort). But Simmons is, I think, at his absolute best when writing horror. Summer of Night is no exception. It's the summer of 1960 in a sleepy mid-western town, where the creepy old school has closed its doors. A few of the local 6th-graders have begun to notice some strange goings on, associated with the old school. Soon they find themselves in over their heads, but by then it's too late... Simmons serves up ghosts and zombies, cthonic beasts and ancient evil. But is anything quite as frightening as the image of a 12-year-old with a sawed-off shotgun in one hand and a squirt gun full of holy water in the other?
Even though the protagonists are 12, this is no kids' book. Depending on how old you are, you may get a sense of nostalgia for your own youth, but Simmons has never shied away from killing off a main character or two, and it doesn't seem to matter to him if they're only children. There's some scary stuff in here and, for my money, Dan Simmons is better equipped to handle horror writing than even Stephen King.

(Books are listed alphabetically by author. Only books received are noted.)